United Road driven to deliver; so is Regal GS
One of my first journalism professors loathed question leads, that is, starting a story with a direct question. Further, he taught our basic newswriting class that, if we felt compelled to use one, we should never phrase it as a question that could be answered with a simple “yes’’ or “no.’’
Of course, human nature being what it is, telling a class of sophomores something they shouldn’t do meant most of us tried to make at least one of those leads work during the semester.
So, under those guidelines, there’s no starting this story with the question: “Did you ever hear of United Road?’’ According to said professor, “The reader will answer, ‘No,’ and immediately turn the page.’’
For those who didn’t turn the page yet, it’s OK to ask: “Why would a company named United Road sponsor an automotive technology conference featuring major auto manufacturers at MIT?’’
A majority of the people attending that conference for the last two years asked just that question and got an eye-opening answer.
United Road turns out to be the major transporter in the automotive world and also has developed a now-patented proprietary technology to get that job—and others—done. The combination makes the conference at MIT a perfect venue for the company to raise its profile and give back to the industry.
The company delivers more than two million vehicles annually from assembly plants, ports, rail distribution centers, auctions, marshaling yards, and dealerships—with 99.7 percent of the trips on time. Its motto: “We’re Driven to Deliver.’’
In a given year, the company uses 3,500 vehicle carriers that cover 150 million miles annually with support from 150 logistics centers around the country.
A subsidiary, Pilot Transport, moves another 35,000 specialty vehicles, which require specialized handling, with the corporate motto: “On time and damage free.’’
These include privately owned vehicles, collector and museum cars, research and development projects, auto and hot rod show cars, vehicles for movies and commercial shoots, and national media tours.
If you ship a vehicle with United Road, you can track it across the country, a valuable tool for the shipper, receiver, and customer.
That’s the contribution of OVISS, United Road’s Online Vehicle Inventory and Shipping Solution.
The technology works so well it both earned a patent and has been licensed for use in other industries and in other countries. It also has made United Road a carrier for virtually every automotive manufacturer.
“Once a vehicle is scanned into the system, it can be tracked by all concerned parties,’’ says Bill Hall, who oversees business development at Pilot Transport. “The status of your auto transport never is more than a click away.’’
That click—or clicks—can show you where the vehicle is by GPS. In the event of a shipping problem, an “event’’ in industry parlance, it is reported immediately as is a delivery confirmation.
United Road drivers get used to the fact that Big Brother always is watching.
In fact, a key to the system is the rugged duty handheld device that they use to scan vehicle and delivery information and which tracks their truck’s location.
So, when we think our personal vehicle is well connected these days, it pales in comparison to many of those 18- and 22-wheeled car carriers we see on the interstates.
United Road? It’s one of those cases when the answer was a lot more interesting than the question.
Buick Regal, a Hot-headed Sweetheart
People often ask me, “What have you driven lately?’’ or “What is your favorite car?’’
Buick’s Regal GS, a luxury sports sedan with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine and six-speed manual transmission, could be my answer to both questions.
Bill Rietow, a lead development engineer for the Regal GS, was in town in February to introduce the GS. Later, we had a chance to drive one for a week in Florida, confirming Rietow’’s claim that you could approach 30 miles per gallon in careful highway driving thanks to serious overdrive in fifth and sixth speed. We also found it to be refined and docile in city driving. So who knew how capable it was of serious performance. A year ago, Rietow averaged 119.99 mph in a GS in winning the rookie award at the Silver State Classic Challenge in Nevada, a time-distance rally over a closed highway. Rietow missed the 45-minute goal (120 mph) by less than two seconds.
Rietow followed up this year with a secondplace finish in the 135 mph class, finishing with navigator John Townsend within 0.4 seconds of their 40-minute target time on the closed remote Nevada State Highway 318.
The course mixes low-speed sections with top-speed stretches, and during the event, “time traps’’ showed the 270-horsepower Buick was traveling at a sustained 162 mph.
The Regal GS piloted by Rietow and Townsend was a stock 2012 model, with modifications limited to safety equipment such as a roll hoop and five-point harness seat belts, as well as data collection computers.
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